The Engagement Present
by ThekatFL
Summary: Rachel wants to give Finn an engagement present that he will never forget. Everyone knows Quinn is a fantastic photographer, so Rachel hires her to do a Boudoir shoot. Eventual M rating. Chapter 1 Rewritten.
1. The Idea

**The Engagement Present **

Disclaimer: I do not own glee, or any other trademarked or copy written material in this story.

Rating: Eventual M

Spoilers: Tons of them, all up in here. Although, I do not claim to follow cannon, I will tweak it as I feel comfy (such as blissfully pretending 'On my way' didn't happen.)

Warnings: Femslash, M for a reason. Oh, and this could quite possibly suck…my first attempt at a fanfic and I have decided to publish it whether I like it or not. Also, mild Finn bashing.

Summary: Rachel wants to give Finn an engagement present that he will never forget. Everyone knows Quinn is a fantastic photographer, so Rachel hires her to do a Boudoir shoot.

AN: The original chapter 1 has been rewritten and replaced due to the fact that I looked at it and realized that if I saw it as it was I would probably have not gotten past the first paragraph in my own story.

* * *

><p><strong>Introduction<strong>

Finn proposed to Rachel a few weeks ago, and she accepted. Everyone is against this, but in true Berry fashion there is no stopping Rachel once she has made a decision. Even if she isn't sure about it.

The wedding will be taking place in May, at the end of the school year. Rachel has done every bit of research on proper traditions, ceremonies and protocol, forcing Finn and anyone else involved in the wedding planning to sit through a 4 hour power point presentation on these matters.

The first, and possibly what she considers one of the most important, is the exchanging of engagement presents between the future Bride and Groom.

After hours of exhausting internet searching for gift ideas, Rachel is exhausted. She decides that she needs other opinions. She mentally goes through her list of friends that could possibly help, starting with, and really ending with the members of The New Directions.

Artie, Mike and Sam are immediately dismissed on the grounds that she really does not know any of them well enough to feel like she can call them for advice on personal matters without intruding. Brittany and Santana are also dismissed due to the fact that she does not have their phone numbers, and she also doubts that they will have anything useful to add that is not full of riddles (on Brittany's part) or insults (on Santana's). Quinn and Kurt are completely against the wedding and have made this beyond clear, so she knows they will refuse any request for assistance in this department.

This leaves Mercedes, Tina and Noah. Rachel almost decides that the call to Noah would be a waste of time due to the vulgarity of his every statement, but he is Finn's best friend. With that in mind she would be ill advised to not at least hear him out. She will however, be using his recommendations as a last resort.

Tina is arguably the most romantic of the trio, and clearly the most supportive of the engagement, so Rachel calls her first.

'Hi Rachel! How are things going with the wedding plans?' Tina asks as soon as the ringing starts.

'Oh you know, just research mostly at this point, the event itself is still a good ways off' Rachel smiles, she knew Tina would get it.

'That's understandable, but it gives you plenty of time to make everything perfect right?'

'Very true, speaking of perfect, I actually called to get your opinion on something' Rachel starts

'Sure thing, what can I do for you?'

'Well, Finn and I will be exchanging engagement presents soon, and I am at a complete loss for what to get him, I want it to be perfect and completely unforgettable, but I can't seem to think of anything that is good enough'

'What about a romantic trip?' Tina asks, 'I know you guys aren't rich or anything, but like a weekend at a hotel in Columbus even, just a getaway of sorts so you can have personal time to spend with each other?'

Rachel considers this, it's actually a very good idea, and it could be a very sweet bonding time for the two of them. Knowing Finn though, he will think a hotel room means that they should just spend the entire time having sex. There are honestly better thing Rachel could think of to do with her time. Besides, they shouldn't need a weekend away if that's going to be the only goal. It's not like Finn could last the entire weekend anyway.

Rachel thanks Tina for her advice and moves on to find out what Mercedes thinks. Mercedes and she have a bit of a love/hate relationship at times, both being the diva's they are. They love each other, but there are times when they just cannot tolerate the other one's ego anymore. With that in mind, text messaging is usually the best way for them to communicate and avoid an argument

-Hey Cedes, could I ask you a quick question?-RB*

-Sure thing, what can I help you out with?-MJ

-Well, I can't think of anything to get Finn for an engagement present, got any ideas?-RB*

-Momma always says food is the way to a man's heart. Get the boy some gift certificates to places he can never go with you because you're vegan and let him have a boy's night on you. –MJ

'_Wow that would actually be a great idea, if Finn could ever remember that I'm vegan.' _Rachel thinks to herself. Finn usually takes them where he wants to go on dates seldom thinking about if they have suitable vegan meals for her. She thanks Mercedes for the idea, saying she'll add it to her list of options.

Next up is Noah, Rachel calls him and gets no answer so she just leaves a short and to the point voice mail, hoping that he will actually take the time to think about it before he calls her back. She doesn't have to wait for long before her phone lights up with a message.

-Can't talk right now Jewbabe, I'd suggest looking on one of those sites online though, like manswers or something where they have guys answer questions like this. –Puckasaurus Rex

Rachel sighs, she didn't actually expect a real answer from him, but at least he kept the exchange mostly clean. She decides to follow his advice and starts to look at male forums and articles written by male advice columnists for ideas. After an hour or so of reading the same unimaginative things over and over, one finally gets her attention.

A Boudoir shoot! A classy collection of intimate photographs of her would be the perfect present for Finn. The hard part of this however, is who will take the pictures.

She can't exactly go to any studio and have these done, she is a future Broadway star, heaven forbid what would happen if these got into the wrong hands. No, there must be someone she can trust who is willing, and skilled enough for this project.

In an effort to remain as well rounded as possible to impress NYADA, Rachel has been a member of every club and group possible since freshman year, however she rarely actually has the time to attend meetings and functions that are not mandatory due to her already demanding personal training schedule.

This includes the photography club, which is where Rachel has decided would be the best place to look for a suitable person to help her with her latest project. With this thought in mind, she actually attends today's meeting of the photography club.

* * *

><p>AN: Any and all thoughts, ideas, criticisms and opinions will be greatly appreciated and taken into consideration. Thank you for allowing me to borrow some of your time.<p> 


	2. Finding a Photographer

Chapter 2: Finding a Photographer

AN: I first want to thank each and every one of you for your enthusiastic response to the introduction. I was honestly thrilled and surprised by every review/alert/favorite that I received. This definitely gave me motivation to continue. I have decided to lengthen and replace the introduction; I myself was personally disappointed when I saw how short it appeared once uploaded. Be that as it may, like I said in the warning, this will be published no matter how much I dislike it. I would probably be a lot less nervous if I had a beta to run this through before I posted *HINT*. Now, I'm going to end this before I put Rachel Berry's rambles to shame.

AN2: Okay, so I lied, I am writing notes before during and after the chapter it seems. Anyway I have decided to back up a bit from the end of the introduction to make this chapter all about the Photography Club meeting.

* * *

><p>Rachel has probably only been to like 2 meetings of the photography club since she rejoined this year. The same could be said for her freshman through junior years also. She just likes to keep a very broad list of extracurricular activities, but you honestly can't expect her to have time to be in full attendance for all of them. So, with the exception of Glee club and her dancing classes, she only attends mandatory meetings and functions such as introduction and yearbook picture day. She was in every year book picture possible.<p>

She spends the majority of the time waiting for the meeting to start by reworking her entire schedule to include the weekly meetings of this photography club, and watching the members as they trickle in trying to decide who she could possibly approach with her plan.

'_Surely there has got to be someone here who I can trust with both my future career and I can believe would be capable of doing this without making it look ridiculous and silly, or possibly worse, like dirty pornography' _She thought to herself as she tried to remember the names and key facts about each person as they entered the door.

Due to her personal need for punctuality, Rachel was the first one there excluding the teacher whose classroom this is anyway and had probably never left since the last class of the day.

The first few where people whose face she recognized but beyond that, and maybe a first name here and there, they didn't really stand out. Mostly it's the type you'd expect to see, hipsters, a few punk kids, stoners looking for an easy club to keep the school administrators off their backs, classic artistic types, dutifully fulfilling all the normal stereotypes while pretending this was original.

After a little while the faces got more familiar, as did the names and personalities. First, there was Thomas and Neal who had asked her to star in an Indie film for them the summer after sophomore year. They were nice guys, but she really didn't feel comfortable enough with them to trust them with her body, especially since she knew they had high ambitions for their 15 minutes of fame.

Then there was Kaitlin the quiet redhead from the drama club. Rachel remembers her from her short time there as the lead in Sandy Ryerson's rendition of Cabaret as the school musical, that is until his personal scandals got him fired once again and the musical cancelled. Rachel really didn't know her well enough to decide if she was an option or not.

Then in walked the one person who Rachel knew was in this club and who would also be the most willing, if she could afford the years upon years of therapy it would require to recover from the event. Jacob Ben Israel comes into the room, and as luck would have it, spots her immediately.

"Oh my, oh my, what do we have here? Rachel Berry? What brings you to our meeting today? Possibly a guest for a nude modeling shoot perhaps?" He wheezes out sitting in the only open seat right next to her.

Rachel makes a disgusted face and scoffs "I will have you know Jacob that I am a member of this club and I will be attending meetings more regularly now that my schedule has freed up. I would also appreciate it if you would keep your disgusting comments and your eyes to yourself. You wouldn't want me to make sure my fiancé gets the wrong idea about your behavior, now would you?"

Jacob looks slightly less motivated than before, but does not move from his seat. Rachel sighs and thinks to herself _'There are not enough words in any dictionary in any language to describe the number of reasons that he is completely not an option.'_ She rolls her eyes and starts to wonder if this plan is really even possible.

Just as Rachel is considering leaving before the teacher calls the meeting to order, the door opens and the most surprising member walks in commanding the attention of everyone in the room.

It amazes Rachel that Quinn Fabray still has this ability regardless of her situation. She never ceased to draw attention and part a crowd; even during the Baby-Gate scandal she still held the entire school in her thrall.

At the beginning of this year she took that to a new extreme when she dyed her hair hot pink and came in dressed completely Punk! No one could take their eyes off of her that first day of school, or the weeks following until she returned it to her natural blonde. However, that is not to say she looked ordinary or wasn't the object of many a conversation, thought or desire afterwards.

Quinn noticed Rachel right away and Rachel could see her beautiful lips start to quirk up in a smile. That is, until Quinn noticed that the only chair next to Rachel was occupied and by whom.

Quinn leveled him in a glare "You're in my seat Jew fro." she sneered.

"But Quinn, you stated clearly the first day that you prefer the window sill to any chair because it provides the best view" Jacob protested a bit weakly.

Quinn arched her eyebrow at him in true HBIC fashion, "The views have changed; now move and you better not have sweated in my chair."

Rachel is not sure if she has ever seen Jacob move that fast, he looked as if he surely feared his life. Quinn doesn't even spare him a glance as he leaves. She smiles down at Rachel with that look that makes Rachel believe that they really are friends no matter what the past has shown.

"Hi Rachel, it's quite the surprise to see you here" she says as she lays her coat over the recently vacated seat.

"I could say the same for you Quinn, thank you for helping me out there though. I was worried I would have to endure Jacob for the whole meeting."

Quinn laughed "There's a lot you don't know about me Rachel, and no worries, I would never leave you to fend for yourself among the likes of that" she nods in his general direction.

The rest of the meeting goes by uneventfully as Rachel and Quinn quietly discuss everything going on. Mostly Quinn is translating what is being said to Rachel who thinks this should be considered a foreign language club rather than part of the arts department.

This is easy to do without drawing the attention of the teacher since Rachel had originally chosen a seat towards the back of the class so that she could observe the different members of the club in hopes of finding the best candidate.

However, while listening to Quinn throughout the hour she had quickly forgotten her reason for being here and was completely involved in her conversations with the blonde.

Before they knew it, the meeting was over and everyone was packing up to head their separate ways. This was when Rachel remembered why she had come.

As they were walking to their lockers, Rachel mentally went through her list of the photography clubs members and realized there was really only one person who she could trust with this project. Quinn and Rachel have never really been friends, not in the traditional sense, and well sometimes not in any sense at all. There was a time when Quinn down right hated her, or that's how she acted anyway.

That is all in the past now, they have been more than acquaintances, but less than friends ever since prom. They really have always been there for each other in the strangest of ways anyway. Somehow always going to the other when in need of help or advice, or reaching out to help the other when no one else realized it was needed most.

Maybe she can ask Quinn to do this for her. Maybe Quinn is exactly the person Rachel needs.

* * *

><p>AN: The next chapter will be about Rachel trying to get closer to Quinn, not only to improve the friendship they've both always wanted, but to find a way to ask for her help with the present.<p> 


	3. Convicing Quinn Fabray

Chapter 3: Convincing Quinn Fabray.

AN: Chapter 1 has been almost completely rewritten, although the basic thought is still the same so there is no real need to read it again, but if you want to go ahead. I am much happier with this version. Also, I'm sorry this took so long. Time to write has been hard to find lately. You can thank a long road trip with plenty of time to think for this chapter.

* * *

><p>Rachel fires off a quick text to her dads to see if they are fine with her inviting a friend over for dinner while she goes through her locker. Quinn is not far away, doing the same thing, putting away her camera and getting out whatever she needed for homework for the night. She gets permission easy enough. Her fathers are still so surprised when she asks for house guests, regardless of the fact that her social standings have gone up, that she is seldom denied.<p>

"Hey Quinn, wait up!" Rachel called out just as Quinn was heading to the parking lot. Rachel isn't quite done in her locker so Quinn turns around and meets her there, leaning against the locker next to hers with a smile. "I was wondering if you had plans for tonight."

"Sure, a bit of homework that isn't due for a week, and a One Tree Hill rerun are desperately calling out for my attention." Quinn has always relied so consistently on sarcasm that Rachel wonders if it is second nature or if she comes up with these things before she says them.

"Would you like to come have dinner at mine then? I'm sure we can catch that rerun if you are that interested" Rachel says with equal amusement at the thought. Having never understood the draw of the show she really hopes that this will not be happening. "Maybe we can also catch up on a few of the millions of things we don't know about each other, I really would like us to be closer as friends".

"I think that would be fantastic Rachel, let me shoot a text to my mom to let her know not to send the Calvary when I haven't made it home by 5." Once again with the sarcasm, but Rachel could see that she was happy that she cared. Quinn had moved back in with her mother sometime after Beth was born when it was discovered that her ever so righteous father was having an affair. This gave her mother the courage to stand up to him and kick him out and start to try to repair the mistakes they made and she has been trying to reconnect with Quinn since then by going overboard on the caring parent factor.

Quinn fiddles with her phone for a moment sending the mentioned text while Rachel finishes up gathering the things she will need for the little homework she didn't do during her free period. "So I'll follow you then?" Quinn asks as they head toward the senior lot.

When they get to Rachel's house, her father's aren't home and after dropping their school things in the den they notice a note with some money on the counter. "Apparently it will be just us tonight, dads had a work emergency and won't be home until past 11" Rachel reads. She looks to Quinn, still not quite sure enough in their friendship to not doubt if being alone with her for so long may be enough for the girl to truly want to leave.

"Well then, take out for 2 it is." Quinn laughs; Rachel is definitely pleased by this. A lack of parental supervision will definitely make her plans a lot simpler, if indeed it goes well enough this could be an awkward conversation as it is anyway. Heaven forbid they were to be overheard or interrupted.

Everything starts off simple and normal enough, they order from the Thai place down the road and settle in for some boring reality show as they eat and talk about their week and their summers. Rachel had spent the summer at a camp for future Broadway hopefuls and working on gaining local theater experience. Quinn had spent her summer exploring the rebellious side of Lima, which surprisingly enough actually existed. Rachel was so absorbed in listening to Quinn's stories of skate parks, and bars, and back road bonfire parties that she completely lost track of time. They are in the middle of the story about the drunken night that lead to that god-awful (in Rachel's Opinion) / Genius (as Quinn thinks) tattoo decision when an alarm on Rachel's phone goes off.

"Oh, I'm sorry Quinn; I did not realize how late I've kept you here. That was the alarm that makes sure I start my nightly routine on time." Rachel is a little embarrassed at having kept Quinn here so long. She had just been listening to Quinn tell stories and time had gotten away from them. Honestly, she could listen to Quinn read the encyclopedia and still never get bored. Quinn's voice had always done things to her, even when it was just spewing creative insults, she couldn't help but hope to hear it more.

Quinn looks at the time on her phone and laughs. "It's alright; we were both having too much fun to notice. I guess I should head out so you can get to it."

Rachel then remembers that she had a purpose for inviting the girl other than simply to enjoy her wonderful company. "Actually Quinn, I'm a bit embarrassed to admit this, but I had an ulterior motive to inviting you tonight. While I do quite enjoy your lovely personality, I was wondering if you could do a favor for me. It's a rather large one, and please if you are at all uncomfortable or put off by the idea, feel free to tell me so."

Quinn frowns and starts to wonder if anyone genuinely just wants to be her friend anymore. She had a decent enough night so she figures she can at least hear the girl out. "What do you need Rache?"

Rachel blushes; she really wasn't sure how to approach this very sensitive matter. To be honest, she was a little afraid of what Quinn's reaction might be. "You see, I need to get an engagement present for Finn and I have an idea I thought your particular skills may be helpful" she starts.

Quinn sighs and rolls her eyes, she knew at some point the conversation would end up coming to that waste of a man. "What on earth do you want to get him that you think I might be helpful with? If I'm even willing?" she says, trying to keep the bite out of her tone. She isn't mad at Rachel, really she isn't. Finn just gets under her skin.

"Quinn, have you ever heard of a Boudoir shoot?" Rachel asks, looking away quickly, prepared for the fall out.

"Well, yea but what's that have to do with...Holy Fuck BERRY!" Quinn starts pacing, she can't believe that thee Rachel Berry is actually asking her to take nude pictures of her. Technically she knows that those shoots aren't actually nude usually, just suggestive, but still!

Rachel starts to get even more nervous thinking Quinn is mad at her for even thinking the idea. "I'm sorry Quinn, I just think that it's the perfect present, and I can't trust a studio with something like that. It might leak when I get famous. You have such talent with photography, and I really did think we were starting to be great friends. I'm sorry if I offended you or overstepped my boundaries." She rambles out.

Quinn can't help but smile. A Rachel Berry rant is one of her favorite things, and she can't help but notice how completely adorable the girl is when she's this worked up. "Rache, it's fine. I'm surprised and shocked, but It's fine. I'm not angry." She assures her. "I just... I'm going to need a moment to think about this, I've never done something like this before and I'm not even sure that your..._fiancé _is worthy of something like that. I mean how can you trust _him _not to leak it?" She asks, still amazed that she's even considering doing this. Of course she's considering it. This is Rachel Berry. Quinn can't help but give the girl whatever she wants after what they've been through and how she feels.

Quinn sighs "Alright. I'll do it. Just...give me a day to do this and I'll get my stuff together and we'll get it taken care of. Do you already have a location and wardrobe in mind?"

Rachel blushes "Well, I have a few backdrops in my basement for the stage. Maybe something simple like that could work...and I have a few outfits in mind. Nothing extravagant, maybe one of his button down shirts, the Brittney Spears project outfit, maybe a few shots in a baby doll nightie or something like that"

Quinn blushed, she's not sure if she can actually do this, but with motivation like that she'll sure as hell try. "That...that sounds perfect. I should have everything we'd need. When do you want to do this? I'm free all weekend so far. Can you be sure your dads aren't going to walk in though? That would be awkward."

Rachel nodded "They are going on a second honeymoon trip this weekend and that's actually why I wanted to be sure I asked you tonight. It really is perfect timing."

Quinn smiled and finished picking up her things. "Sure Rach, I can come over Saturday and we'll do this and then make a girls night of it or something. It'll be great. It's late though so I really need to leave before I start getting phone calls."

"Of course, I wouldn't want to get you into trouble. Thank you for helping me, I really can't tell you how grateful I am" Rachel walked her to her car and watched until she turned the corner. This was going to be perfect.

* * *

><p>AN: Once again, I apologize for the wait and thank you for taking the time to read this. Any thoughts, ideas or criticisms will be appreciated. The next chapter will be the photo shoot. I'm undecided as to whether I should make them jump into bed mid shoot or just have Quinn freak out and confess her feelings when she gets too worked up. If you have a preference let me know. If I decide that they should confess feelings first I will most likely drag this out more and have Rachel drop Finn and get them into a relationship, or at least have them hook up without it being cheating. It really depends on if the story has the potential to be more than just a quick lead up to smut. Opinions are welcome and I love you guys!<p> 


End file.
